Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

TheExpatriate700 Countdown to Looking Glass is a good speculative thriller examining the outbreak of World War III. Made during the Cold War, it is rife with the tension of the period. It also gives a haunting portrait of how the apocalypse could have happened.Through a series of news reports, we see events spiral out of control following a financial collapse in South America. We see both the televised reports and the behind the scenes debates among the reporters and their producers. The film not only has a keen eye for political developments, but also a good sense of the role of media in shaping the world.The film also wisely avoids showing the actual nuclear exchange. Rather than imitate The Day After, which had come out a year earlier, the film keeps its focus on the lead up to disaster, heightening the tension. It is a worthy entry in the early 80s end of the world genre.

Justin Perry I was 10 when this program aired on HBO in 1984.Set up like a news broadcast, it covers the rising international tensions between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. It also has a back story of a reporter (Helen Sheaver) trying to get the biggest story of her career...the start of Nuclear War.Though it moves quickly, I love the fact that they used many real news people in this film. Patrick Watson was a reporter and anchor for the CBC at the time this was filmed. Nancy Dickerson was one of US televisions first female correspondents. All of this adds tremendously to the plot of the film.I wish HBO would release this on DVD. It's a program for the history books and is a fascinating study of what could happen in television broadcasting if the unthinkable did happen.

papamac630 I remember when this movie was first shown on HBO...it had the kind of gripping action that made you sit, watch, and fear for your life...the actors did a great job of realistically portraying their roles...with special kudos to Patrick Watson as Don Tobin and Helen Shaver as Dorian Waldorf...Watson's uneasiness at the end of the movie does not spoil the ending, which will set the hair on your neck straight up and send chills down your spine...but it does provide a view into what might face the American public should the unthinkable occur...add this movie to the growing list of selections that should have been out on DVD way before now...it is dated to some extent, but the overall premise still rings true...and will scare the daylights out of you...

mr_hypocrite "The Day After" tried to scare us with it's vision of nuclear horror. It failed. But "Countdown To Looking Glass" worked because it fictionalized the events leading up to a nuclear conflict. You basically watch it like you were watching CNN coverage of a Middle East crisis (except you get a little bit more omniscience.) It was made in 1984 yet I can still remember scenes from it. Scott Glenn's live shots from an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf were so much like Peter Arnett, John Holliman and gang broadcasting from the Al-Rasheed hotel in Baghdad during the first invasion of Iraq. The film doesn't appear to be on DVD which is a shame. This film perfectly captured my fears of nuclear war at this time (I was 18.)